Customs fees reduction on
600 goods exported to Algeria

The two countries plan to boost investments in contracting and hospitality

The Algerian Government will reduce customs fees on 600 Lebanese exported products, as a result of a visit by an economic delegation headed by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture to Algeria.

The customs fee reduction should have been carried out once the Arab Free Trade Agreement was signed. But the Algerian Government did not implement the agreement, in order to protect its local industry, according to Mounir Bissat, Chairman of the Council for Industrial Exports’ Development at the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI). He said that Algeria used to impose tough conditions on local exports, in order to ban their entrance into its market.

Wajih Bizri, Chairman of the local chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce, and member of the delegation to Algeria, said that Algeria will send the chamber a list of the kinds of products that will benefit from the customs fee reductions, which could reach zero percent.

Bissat said that light industries, including food, may benefit from this procedure. Algeria is well known for its heavy industries.

“We need these markets, especially in light of the difficulties facing industrialists in exporting to Arab and Gulf countries,” said Bissat.

Lebanese cuisine is rarely found in the Algerian market, although it is in demand by the Algerians, according to Bizri.

The delegation to Algeria found that the private sector could exploit several opportunities in this market, mainly in the contracting, hospitality, and IT sectors. Bizri said that Algerians could benefit from the private sector’s experience and knowhow in various sectors. Several further meeting will be conducted to follow up on this issue.